Sapere Aude

“For criminal justice reform advocates, a year that started with high hopes for broad overhauls of federal sentencing laws is ending on a dismal note, and now conservative groups, who have worked for years to build clout among “law and order” skeptics in their movement, must take on their biggest challenge yet: a Donald Trump presidency.

Leading conservative figures aligned with a bipartisan coaltion of criminal justice groups are pressing the incoming Trump administration to make the issue a priority, arguing that reducing the prison population and increasing access to treatment programs don’t conflict with Trump’s much-touted law enforcement goals. Liberal groups within the coalition, who have benefited from friendly ears and willing allies within the Obama administration, now must hope the relationships like-minded conservatives have cultivated can pay off in a similar manner.”